Thanks for the Memories: 20 and Beyond
by Hikami42
Summary: /Discontinued/ Evil is afoot when Eggman challenges Sonic to an ultimate battle in only a month, the Master Emerald is taken from Angel Island, Shadow happens across a Robotnik-look-alike, and Eggman has sinister plans for our blue hero; a plot deeply set in his past.


_**Thanks for the Memories: 20 Years and Beyond  
><strong>__Prologue: One Vacation Missed  
>Written by<em>_: Hikari-san42 and Yami-sama42  
><em>_Universe:__ GAME-VERSE (plus elements of Sonic X season 3)  
><em>_Rating:__ T (for major curse words and mild violence – no death)  
><em>_Summary:__  
>When Eggman challenges Sonic to an ultimate battle, the hedgehog has only a month to gather his forces from around Mobius. Meanwhile, the Master Emerald is taken, Angel Island starts to fall, and Shadow happens across a figure that uncannily resembles Robotnik in the midst of the aftermath of a crash. Eggman has sinister plans for our blue hero; a plot that makes his past look like a dream.<br>__Pairings:__ NONE (except maybe a little Silvaze)  
><em>_Warnings:__ Cuss words, mild OOCness, forgotten characters, mild to intermediate Archie bashing, multiple converging subplots – be sure to take notes, as there will be a test afterwards.  
><em>_Length:__ 23 chapters  
><em>_**Notes:**__ HAPPY BIRTHDAY SONIC! Hello all, this is a 20th anniversary fic. It will span 23 chapters and was supposed to be completely written and completed by the first of June, but that's not happening. Instead, we're writing it one chapter at a time and posting it that way. It will have elements taken from almost all the games in the series (though some have been knocked out for continuities' sake as well as because they are almost impossible to find.) All characters have been aged up five years from the official ages, to help the plot along as well as to aid accuracy, and some physical alterations have been made according to the increased age (mainly in the younger characters). We've messed a little with the order of the games, meaning that a game that might've __came__ out a year or two before another may fall after. We changed around some of the ages to spread them out more realistically and to fit them all in as best we could.  
><em>_Disclaimer:__ Any and all characters, Zones, and themes belong to their rightful owners - most likely SEGA - unless otherwise stated. All plot lines and devices belong to the writers - Hikari-san42 and Yami-sama42 - unless also otherwise stated. All ideas are based on opinion and are not to be taken as a personal attack on your person, and neither of us claims to be complete and total Sonic Gurus, so there's likely to be mistakes in continuity somewhere. Don't shoot; we're innocent, we swear._

_Thanks to blaze firelight and cream for beta reading this mess! _

o0o

_They call me Sonic  
>'Cause I am faster than sound<br>I keep on jumpin' around  
>Blue hedgehog, Sonic<br>With incredible speed  
>I'm movin' my feet.<em>

_- _They Call me Sonic

o0o

Beeping noises, flashing lights, glowing screens, dimly lit worktables, assorted mechanical parts. All signs of a genius at work. Half-built mechs and partially drawn blueprints littered the central control center of Robotnik's latest base.

Strands of binary code and numerous lines of information stretched across the monitors, multicolored pictures and diagrams displayed for all to see. Robots with open panels packed the walls, bolts and screws scattered across the floor. Deactivated androids and appliances were scattered in corners long forgotten.

The human male stood over one workbench in particular, a welding mask resting on his face; the light of the blowtorch cast an eerie sheen over his features. All at once, the flame died, the mask lifted, and an evil grin was given. It was complete.

"Finally. After months of work and research, it is finally complete. My latest plan will soon come to be!" the robust man gloated.

Setting the torch, mask, and screwdriver on the bench, he lifted the component and traveled out of the room, leaving to another separate part of the structure. He held the part in his hand, wires jutting from the top, and prepared it to be connected to the large unit Said installment went up to his waist at the very least.

"Just connect this here and put that there and- a-ha! There we are!" He rubbed his hands together gleefully. "The day will come, and I'll finally win. Just wait…" He trailed his skillful fingers down the sleek metal hull and settled his eyes on the dark, but fully operational screen. It closely resembled a heart monitor, and life-support system. "I should have thought of this years ago."

Robotnik drummed his fingers on the glass cover and stared inside of it, imagining it in use for its real purpose. He smirked an ominous smile.

"Oh Sonic…!" he cooed to the empty room in a creepily sing-song voice. "I hope you don't mind that I took the liberties to make a little scrapbook." The scientist tapped his toe once or twice, as if lost in his _past_. He chuckled.

"All I need now is your help…"

o0o

"C'mon! Let just _go_ already! We go every year! We're not just gonna stop 'cause you don't want to!" Sonic's eye twitched as he glared down at the younger male in front of him.

The fox huffed slightly, ears twitching. "No! You go yourself; I have work to do in the Workshop!"

Sonic scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, _work_. You're always doing _work_. You're always doing _something_, but I'm not sure it qualifies as _work_."

Tails looked effectively offended at that. "How do you think your _precious_ plane gets off the ground every time _you_ want to go lounge on some _beach_? If it weren't for my _work_ you'd be _dead_ by now! No, 'oh thank you Tails!' or 'If it weren't for you, I'd have never made it off Westside Island!' just 'Nag nag nag'. I thought you were my _friend_ not my _mother_!"

"Yeah, well here lately, I've not been so sure of that anymore!" Crossing his arms, Sonic allowed his mind to so subtly space out of the conversation and drift on to other thoughts. Throughout the years, the fox had grown so much. Well, everyone had, but the fox was the most noticeable. He continued to get smarter and his personality kept getting stronger. As the kit waned into the early stages of puberty, the two were constantly arguing. Sonic himself was beginning to settle into adulthood and had practically finished his own development, thus the younger by nearly seven and a half years saw him as more authority now than ever. And they hadn't just changed mentally. They'd also had a couple physical alterations. One such would be the steady changing of the fox's hand, ears, and feet into a coal black color. Another would be the appearance of glasses. Sonic himself had adopted wrapping around his elbows and knees as well as his ankles and wrists.

Behind his specs, Tails' eyes narrowed when he noticed his sparring partner's eyes glaze over as he zoned out. He quickly yanked the glasses off his face before rubbing the bridge of his nose and stashing the light blue frames somewhere safe. Sonic had been spacing out more and more lately, and it was starting to get tiresome for the twelve year old. He grumbled to himself before starting to back away slowly, hoping that the hedgehog's apparent distraction would be enough for him to dash up to his room and lock the door.

Snapping out of his trance, Sonic refocused on reality just a second late enough to see the kitsune's tails whip around the corner and up the steps. "Tails! GET BACK HERE!" He sighed, the will to fight draining from him in a millisecond. "Why do I bother...?"

Ten minutes later, the door to Tails' room opened and a blue head poked inside. Looking over to the bed in the middle of the dark room, the hedgehog saw black tipped ears twitching as their owner slept off the previous disagreement. Trying not to heave a sigh, Sonic gently closed the door and tiptoed back downstairs to the hangar. Opening the huge garage-like doors, the speedster walked back towards the plane, running a hand over the side. His fingers caught on a cleverly hidden and subtle handle, and he popped open a small hatch before lifting a pair of aviator goggles out. Putting them over his eyes and replacing the latch, he jumped into the biplane.

The flight up to Angel Island was a silent and short affair, the landmass floating just past the edge of Mystic Ruins. Knuckles was expecting him. Every year, Sonic and Tails took a short vacation on Angel Island in the summer. Knuckles enjoyed the company - no matter how much he protested in the beginning - and both the younger ones enjoyed the chance to get away. _Until this year..._ Sonic grumbled to himself.

Soon, the island came into view. Looking over the controls, he checked the altitude. _That's weird. Usually Angel Island's higher up than this. _Of course, he wasn't an expert at the way the giant chunk of levitating dirt worked, so he didn't think much of it. Finding a wide open field to land in, he rolled his plane to a smooth stop. After he powered the machine down, he jumped onto the Tornado's wing, removing the eyewear. He glanced around, finding no trace of the guardian. Hopping to the ground and putting the goggles away, he jogged off towards the Emerald Altar.

He made good time, arriving only seconds after his initial first step, and was slightly surprised to find Knuckles sleeping on the steps of the stone platform, his cowboy-esq hat dropped low over his eyes, a pair of glasses clenched in a gloved, spiked fist. The Master Emerald hummed slightly behind him, as if sensing the Chaos Energies flowing through Sonic's veins and calling to them. In fact, the hedgehog could feel his spirits lifting slightly as he stared at the green rock.

Almost zoning out again, he shook his head and brought his attention to Knuckles. Giving a stupid grin and hiding a chuckle, he walked over and nudged the echidna with his foot.

The red figure jerked upwards, jumping onto his feet with a muffled cry. "It's a lie; I'm not a ghost!"

Sonic snorted. "Of course you're not. Though you'd be about as smart as one. They turn intangible for a _reason_, though I can't _fathom_ why they don't." Moving the side a bit, he smacked a hand on the back of the echidna's head while removing the corrective lenses from red's hand. "Wouldn't want these broken, eh? I know how expensive they are."

The echidna didn't waste time retrieving his stolen property, snatching the frames back from the hedgehog's hands faster than most would be able to see. He adjusted his hat before retorting, "don't goad me, hedgehog. I've had to pay for these things _twice_ over because _someone_ decided it'd be a good idea to play some 'Spinball Tag' on the Island while I was asleep. Really, you'd think broken glass going into your back would _sting_, even if only a little bit." He carefully rested the thin glasses onto his nose and blinked tightly twice to get the world back into focus. "How's the fox doing with his? He able to fly that plane of yours again yet?"

Sonic nodded. "Yeah. I took him to get some specialized aviator's goggles. He didn't really mind trying to fly with his regular glasses, but I'd rather be safe than have to pay for a hospital bill and replacement parts." The Guardian had changed as well. The echidna's long spines had only gotten longer, and his hands, (un?)surprisingly bigger. And glasses, of course. Not for the same reason as Tails, as their prescriptions seemed to be for opposite ends of the spectrum. Sonic was just glad he didn't have any (and hopefully wouldn't, but he wasn't willing to jinx himself by expressing this aloud).

"Good for him. He seems like the type to not let a simple thing like bad eyesight get him down." The echidna paused, glasses**-**framed eyes scanning the area around him. "Speaking of Tails, where is he?"

Sonic gave a sigh that turned into a growl. "The brat decided that he was too cool or busy to spend a little time with his best friend and brother on our annual visit." He stomped up to the Master Emerald, but didn't do anything besides stare into its depths.

Knuckles raised an eye ridge before easily standing and slowly making his way towards the hedgehog. He carefully clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder and Sonic slowly moved his head in the red one's direction, taking note of his disappearing spectacles. "Don't take it too hard Sonic; Tails is growing**,** and both of us represent boundaries and control. Not to mention, you've kinda been a stick in the mud since the whole business with those Wisps ended a few months ago."

Sonic leveled Knuckles with a flat look. "Yes, because you'd be an expert on anything even distantly related to 'fun'." Avoiding the subject of his last big adventure, he pulled away from his friend and the jewel, leaving the other to follow him away from the clearing around the altar. "Since when have I been considered a 'boundary' or 'control'?" He had figured he'd be the furthest thing away from either with his own love of freedom and hatred of restraints.

Knuckles sighed, following Sonic around before the hedgehog stopped near a nice cluster of trees. "What you need, Sonic," he paused, waiting for the hedgehog to turn and acknowledge him, "is perspective." The blue one's ears ticked at this and his head turned just a fraction to the side. The echidna easily swept aside the group of trees, revealing a well-beaten path. "Step into my parlor." He smiled, showing off his canines.

o0o

Knuckles' 'parlor', as it turned out to be, was merely a clearing of brush on the edge of the Island, only a short walk away from the Master Emerald altar. From this altitude, the view was spectacular, and as the two sat upon the cliff, they let their minds wander in contemplative thoughts and impassive opinions, the world below them moving on, unaware of the two heavenly spectators. Knuckles was settled with a beer in hand, Sonic with a bottle of water. Knuckles took a swig of his beverage and pulled his hat off his head before flinging it somewhere behind him.

"Ah," he breathed, belching appreciatively. "Nothing like looking down on the world and realizing that your troubles aren't the only ones, eh Sonic?"

Sonic grunted, eyes narrowed, lost in his own reflections. He took a sip of his own drink. "I suppose; though I have to admit that sometimes I forget about the rest of the world. Funny, considering I'm supposed to be this big 'hero'. Is that such a bad thing, though?" the hedgehog seemed to be talking as much to Knuckles as he was to himself.

"Well, I would say 'no', but I'm not exactly the greatest person to be asking," the echidna shrugged. "I hate pretty much everything about the surface world." He paused. "It's okay to be a little self-centered sometimes, you know." His voice was low, almost a rumble, and he clapped a hand on Sonic's shoulder lightly. "You don't have to be the martyr all the time."

Sonic sighed, pursing his lips. "I guess not, but yet I still feel just slightly less about myself whenever I consider that, 'Hey! Maybe, just maybe, the rest of the world is worse off than me!' and here I am bitching about my problems and complaining about things that others would just die to do or have at least once. And that makes me feel like a selfish prick. Way to go, me!" He followed this up by smacking his forehead and falling backwards. Seconds later, he flinched as a few drops from his water bottle landed on his face.

"Well..." Knuckles began, taking a deep breath to delve into a long monologue, but he snapped his mouth closed when Sonic's ears seemed to fall flat as if to block him out. They sat in silence after that, both having plenty to say but no way to actually phrase it. The air turned thick as they floated over Mobius silently, and eventually Sonic sat up again, after his quills had sunk almost all the way into the dirt. Knuckles looked at him before taking a long swig of his drink and sighing deeply in happiness. "Done brooding?"

Sonic shook himself to release the soil that had lodged its way into his spines. "I guess so." He stuck a finger into the end of his bottle and sloshed it upside down before leveling the container and dragging the wet digit across his eyes. He took a deep breath of cool, crisp air and leaned forward.

"Good." Knuckles nodded slightly, finishing off his can before seeming to pull another from nowhere. "So, anything interesting - besides Tails blowing me off - happen at el casa de Sonic y Tails?" Seeing the other's look, the echidna held up a hand in defense. "I've been getting human channels on my radio when I float over Station Square. You pick up a bit when you don't have anything else to listen to."

Sonic shook his head. "I see," was all he said. "And I thought you just said you didn't like anything about the surface world; or were you just saying things?"

"Contrary to popular belief, Speedy, I can't look at cloud formations all day long. I'm not a hippie." Came the quick reply.

"Hey!" Sonic snapped, glaring at Knuckles. The echidna gave him a nearly surprised look. "That's _Speedy the Needlemouse _to you, _Knux_." He had an almost comical yet serious look on his face.

The echidna held up his hands in mock-surrender. "Whatever you say, Mr. Needlemouse." He grabbed his can and took a healthy drink.

Sonic wrinkled his nose. "Bleg. That crap stinks. How can you drink that? ...And isn't it from the surface as well?"

The echidna passed over the first question and cut over to the one that mattered most to him. "No."

Sonic's face set into a flat look. "Alright then, I'll bite; if it's not from the surface, then where's it from?"

"The gods." His voice was deadpan, but still held an obvious note to it as he pointed up.

"It's too bad that this 'elixir of the gods' isn't endowed with the supernatural ability to bestow wisdom upon one's thick skull, because then you might be able to think clearly for once in your life," the hedgehog sighed in reply to Knuckles' ridiculous answer.

"I am thinking clearly," the red one replied, getting slowly to his feet. "I can perfectly envision the beautiful blue splat you'll make when I push you off this Island."

"Not right now, thanks," Sonic replied, though he did scoot away from the edge a little more. Looking up at the other he raised a brow. "Going somewhere?"

"Potty emergency," was the flat reply he received.

"Just don't forget to look where you're going," Sonic called after the retreating echidna. He slid easily onto his belly and started to kick his feet in content as his tipped his water bottle over, dripping mere drops at a time and watching them fall to the planet below. He nearly dropped the plastic container twice, but he managed to keep it in his hand.

The echidna grumbled to himself as he thrashed his way through the brush before stopping at a perfect looking spot. Quiet, secluded, and well**-**covered from prying eyes... but he couldn't help but feel like something was off. His eyes swept around before resting on a small brown form a few feet away. "Oy! Squirrel! Get lost! I don't watch you while you relieve yourself!"

"Yeah, little squirrel! He might have a bomb for you over there!" the blue one couldn't help but call out, hiding a snicker.

Knuckles' face went dark and he easily picked up the squirrel before carefully carrying it a few feet away and letting it off at a different tree. It chattered at him unhappily before scampering away up the trunk. "You better watch it, hedgehog!" He called back as he stalked his way back to his bathroom spot. "Or I'll slap the accent right outta you!"

"Oh I hope you would, Knuckie. I so hope you would; you may not know this, but it's fatal," Sonic crossed his arms and rested his chin on them. "I could keel over at any time."

"Or," Knuckles replied, walking back with his hands resting on his hips, "I could just end the suspense and do it now." He paused, reaching down and grabbing the hedgehog before pulling him up to his feet. "I'll have probable cause. No jury would convict me after hearing the word 'Knuckie'."

"Eeeeew," Sonic whined, pulling free of Knuckles' grip. "You didn't wash your hands." Taking a big gulp of his water, he grinned. "Here; lemme help you!" With that, he grabbed two red wrists and dumped the remaining contents of his bottle onto the others' hands.

The echidna jumped back as if hit before staring at his now soaking hands. His fists closed, making a nice squelching noise as they did so. "These are my only gloves, Sonic." The name was spat out like acid. "And now you've ruined them for a good few hours. It'll be dark by the time they dry, and by then I won't be able to do anything." He started to advance on the hedgehog, but before he could raise a fist against him, a loud explosion boomed from underneath them.

Sonic's eyes and ears snapped to attention as he looked over the edge of the Island. Ignoring Knuckles, he spotted the cause of the disruption. Down on the planet's surface, an army of badniks was attacking an island. Sonic's emerald orbs narrowed in anger. "Eggman... He's made an attack on that village." Looking closely, he tried to pinpoint an exact location, but from this far above sea level, he was lost. Turning his head slightly, he asked, "Knuckles, where exactly are we right now? Like, what's Angel Island floating over?"

Knuckles closed his eyes, his wet gloves completely forgotten at the mention of innocents and robots. "The Master Emerald isn't really giving a clear picture, but it's a beach Zone... Lots of hills..." His eyes snapped open before he sent Sonic a sympathetic look. "But, I can tell from the thinness of the air where we are..." He slowly moved towards the edge to stand near Sonic. "Did you know that the density of the air effects how fast sound travels?"

"Vaguely. I remember Tails mentioning it once or twice, and someone told me that when I was a kid." He waved a hand around in a circular motion. He blinked at the ground and squinted as if he could see the surface from this height. "So, where are we?"

"We," Knuckles began, "are above a place where the air was just thin enough to allow a hedgehog of just ten years to break the sound barrier." He glanced down at the blue one, taking notice of his stiffened back. "Green Hill Zone."

"_Shit_," was the immediate reaction to the last three words. "Hell-to-the-no. Why here? Of everywhere in the world, why _here_?" He slammed a hand against his forehead in frustration. "Damnit, Robotnik, _WHY_!" Growling to himself, he crossed his arms and stalked away from the edge of the island towards the Tornado.

Knuckles watched him go before turning in the opposite direction and walking quickly towards the Master Emerald. But, before he could get any closer, a brief image flashed through his head. It was there only a millisecond, but still long enough for him to understand what the M.E. was trying to convey to him. "Eggman's got an Emerald..."

Sonic jumped into the tiny cockpit and pulled on his goggles before pausing to give a brief shudder. Taking a calming breath, Sonic started the engine, ran his pre-flight tests, and took off. Green Hill Zone or not, he was still the hero of Mobius and he had a job to do.

o0o

_NOTES: _

_On The Timeline:_ This story started a long time before the 20th Anniversary game was announced or we had any idea what it was going to look like. As a result, this story takes place a few months after the events of _Sonic Colors_ and any parallels that it draws with the Anniversary game are purely incidental. For all intents and purposes, the anniversary game doesn't exist. (Though, we are planning on writing an Adaptation of it once we've played it enough and we're pretty far into it.) The order of the games has also been altered slightly for convenience and to attempt to fill in plot holes. Sonic X season 3 has also been shoved into the plotline (see the below notes for more info) after Adventure 2. The order is as follows:  
>● Tails Adventures<br>• Sonic 1  
>• SegaSonic Arcade<br>• Sonic 2  
>• Sonic 3<br>• Sonic & Knuckles  
>• Sonic CD<br>• Sonic Adventure  
>• Sonic Advance 2<br>• Sonic Adventure 2  
>• Sonic X season 3<br>• Sonic Heroes  
>• Sonic Advance 3<br>• Shadow the Hedgehog  
>• Sonic Rush<br>• Sonic the Hedgehog 2006  
>• Sonic Riders<br>• Sonic and the Secret Rings  
>• Sonic and the Black Knight<br>• Sonic 4  
>• Sonic Unleashed<br>• Sonic Colors

o0o

REVIEW PLEASE?


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